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\n Story Links
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<\/p>\n
#41\u00a0SMU (7-4, 1-3\u00a0ACC) vs. #60 Boston College\u00a0(6-5,\u00a00-3\u00a0ACC)\u00a0\u00a0 #41\u00a0SMU (7-4, 1-3\u00a0ACC) vs.\u00a061\u00a0Syracuse\u00a0(5-5,\u00a01-2\u00a0ACC)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
MAKING NATIONAL NOISE AND RACKING UP ACC HONORS\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 DYNAMIC DUO, ITA RANKINGS\u00a0\u00a0 THE OPPONENTS\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 HISTORIC WIN IN WACO\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\nFriday,\u00a0March 6\u00a0\u2022\u00a012\u00a0p.m. CT\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\nChestnut Hill,\u00a0Mass.\u00a0\u2022 \u00a0Weymouth Club
\nLive Scores<\/a>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0SMU Mobile App<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nSunday, March\u00a08\u00a0\u2022\u00a010\u00a0a.m. CT\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\nSyracuse, N.Y.\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Drumlins Country Club\u00a0\u00a0
\nWatch<\/a>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Live Scores<\/a>\u00a0\u2022\u00a0SMU Mobile App<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nSETTING THE SCENE\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 The No.\u00a041-ranked SMU women’s tennis team continues conference play up\u00a0north as it faces Boston College and Syracuse this weekend.\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 The Mustangs\u00a0enter the stretch 1-3 in ACC play, after falling 4-2 in each of their two matches to\u00a0No. 20 Duke and No. 3 North Carolina last time out.\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 SMU enters the weekend 7-4\u00a0overall and is looking to get back in the win column after losing the last three matches.\u00a0
\n\u2022\u00a0The matchups mark the first-ever\u00a0meetings for SMU against\u00a0Boston College or Syracuse.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u2022\u00a0For the\u00a0second\u00a0straight week, Amelie Van Impe<\/a> was recognized by the league office for her play over the weekend. Van Impe was named both ACC Player &\u00a0Freshman\u00a0of the week, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.\u00a0
\n\u2022\u00a0The\u00a0freshman\u00a0earned the\u00a0two conference\u00a0nods\u00a0after going\u00a0a combined 3-0 in doubles and singles\u00a0play\u00a0during the second weekend of ACC\u00a0action. She, along with her teammate\u00a0Caroline McGinley<\/a>,\u00a0also went from unranked in doubles to the No. 10-ranked pair nationally.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 Van Impe\u00a0earned her second consecutive ACC Freshman of the Week honor\u00a0and the first ACC Player of the Week nod\u00a0of her career.\u00a0Since joining the league in 2024, Van Impe became the second player in program history to\u00a0be named\u00a0ACC Player of the Week, joining\u00a0Arianna Stavropoulos<\/a>,\u00a0who got the honor last season.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 The\u00a0Wichelen, Belgium, native\u00a0made national noise\u00a0with a commanding win over\u00a0the No. 1-ranked player in the ITA, Reese Brantmeier of North Carolina, 6-1, 6-2\u00a0on Sunday. The win came after nearly defeating the No.\u00a022\u2013ranked player from Duke on court\u00a0one\u00a0Friday in a\u00a0match that went unfinished, despite her 7-5, 2-6, 5-4 lead. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022\u00a0In doubles action, Van Impe and her partner,\u00a0Caroline McGinley<\/a>,\u00a0picked up two wins to remain unbeaten.\u00a0The pair started the week with a 6-2 win over the No. 12-ranked pair, Liv Hovde and Shavit Kimchi of Duke, to clinch the doubles point. The tandem also collected a 6-2 win over\u00a0North Carolina’s\u00a0court\u00a0one doubles pair\u00a0on Sunday.\u00a0Van Impe and McGinley are 9-0 in doubles play this season.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 The SMU court one doubles team of Caroline McGinley<\/a> and Amelie Van Impe<\/a> jumped from unranked in the ITA to No. 10 nationally this week. The duo is a perfect 8-0 this season, while individually,\u00a0McGinley is 11-0 in doubles in the spring. \u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 After her stellar week taking down the nation’s No. 1-ranked player, Van Impe went from also unranked to No. 49 in singles. \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 Sophie Llewellyn<\/a> split her ranked singles matchups last week, securing a win over No. 118 Liv Hovde of Duke, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. The result\u00a0helped Llewellyn move up to No. 59 in the latest rankings. \u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 Caroline McGinley<\/a> and Ellie Mireles<\/a> remain ranked as a pair in doubles, despite not playing together\u00a0since the second weekend of the season. They come in a No. 58 this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 Boston College brings a 6-5 overall record into the matchup on Friday and is looking for its first ACC win of the season. \u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 The Eagles went 5-18 in 2025, 1-12 in ACC matches. \u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 Syracuse enters Sunday’s matchup 5-5, 1-2 in ACC play this season. Syracuse defeated Boston College 5-0 last time out for its lone league win of the year. \u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 The Orange went 11-1, 2-10 in ACC play last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 On Feb. 1, SMU collected a 4-3 win over Baylor in Waco. It marked the first win over the Bears since 1995.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022\u00a0Gina Feistel<\/a>\u00a0clinched the winner-take-all final match of the day on court one with a 7-6(3), 0-6, 7-6(4) win over No. 40 Na Dong of Baylor.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 SMU won the doubles point for the fifth time this season and got two wins from courts five and six from\u00a0Caroline McGinley<\/a><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Natalie Stasny<\/a>\u00a0to help secure the victory.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nLLEWELLYN ADVANCES IN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 In her NCAA Championship debut, Llewellyn advanced to the second round of the tournament by defeating Texas A&M’s Violeta Martinez 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, before falling to eventual champion Reese Brantmeier in three sets in her next matchup.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 Llewellyn punched her ticket to the NCAA Singles Championships in November after reaching the semifinal round of the ITA Sectional Championships on Saturday.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 Llewellyn became the first Mustang to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships since Marta Lesniak did so in 2011.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 Llewellyn finished the fall season with a 10-4 record.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nNEW LOOK MUSTANGS\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 Coach McKenna and staff brought eight newcomers to the 2026 roster, including four true freshman and one transfer ahead of her first season on the Hilltop.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 Llewellyn and McGinley are the only two returners to the program from the\u00a0previous\u00a0season.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u00a0
\nLET THE MCKENNA ERA BEGIN\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 Coach McKenna begins her tenure at SMU after serving as the head coach at Wisconsin since 2017.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 McKenna’s tenure at Wisconsin was defined by a dramatic program turnaround. When she arrived in the fall of 2016, the Badgers were coming off a 4-16 season and a winless Big Ten campaign. In her second year, Wisconsin began to show progress, and by her third season in 2018-19, the team posted an 18-6 record, finished second in the Big Ten at 9-2, and earned its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2005.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 By 2023, the Badgers had achieved one of the best seasons in school history: 20 victories (first in 25 years), a No. 11 national ranking at their peak (highest since 1996), and a season-ending No. 22 ITA ranking, along with the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since 2002. Under McKenna’s leadership, Wisconsin evolved from the bottom of the Big Ten into a nationally respected contender, consistently competing against and defeating top 25 programs.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 Over the last three seasons, McKenna has led the Badgers to a record of 58-21 including three straight NCAA Round of 32 appearances. Last season, McKenna coached Maria Sholokhova to a 2024 Women’s ITA All-American Singles Championship, becoming the program’s first All-American since 1998 in 2025.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n\u2022 McKenna and Sholokhova became the first coach-player duo,\u00a0men’s\u00a0or women’s, to both win the ITA All-American Singles Championship.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Story Links
#41\u00a0SMU (7-4, 1-3\u00a0ACC) vs. #60 Boston College\u00a0(6-5,\u00a00-3\u00a0ACC)\u00a0\u00a0
Friday,\u00a0March 6\u00a0\u2022\u00a012\u00a0p.m. CT\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
Chestnut Hill,\u00a0Mass.\u00a0\u2022 \u00a0Weymouth Club
…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":516527,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":["post-516526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=516526"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/516526\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/516527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=516526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=516526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=516526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}